Christmas Countdown (3 page)

Two large metal doors opened and EJ walked into the
SHINE
Operations Room. She noticed that the room had been decorated with Christmas decorations. Gold stars hung from the roof and there was tinsel around the workstations. And, waiting for her as always, was A1, the head of
SHINE
.

‘Welcome back, EJ12!' said A1, smiling. She was dressed in her usual black suit with crisp white shirt and a shiny yellow pendant around her neck. ‘I'm sorry to hear about GM80, I mean your grandma,' she continued.

‘GM80? Grandma was OM?' asked EJ.

‘Just a little one,' said A1. ‘And she will be proud of her granddaughter for cracking that cracker code so quickly. She'll think you are a chip off the old block.'

EJ blushed. ‘But is it really a code?' asked EJ. ‘Or is it just a Christmas cracker riddle?'

‘I would say it's a code, EJ,' replied A1. ‘The Christmas cracker was intercepted en route to a known
SHADOW
agent and what you decoded makes me pretty certain it is a message.'

‘The riddle spells out DIAMONDS,' said EJ.

‘Indeed,' replied A1. ‘And remember the last line.'

‘“My last is in sparkle, which I do, but not in taken, which I have been,”' remembered EJ.

‘Exactly. Diamonds have been taken,' said A1. ‘Does that mean stolen? I think so.'

‘But which diamonds, where and by who?' asked EJ.

‘Excellent spy questions,' said A1. ‘That's exactly what we need you to find out. We do, however, have a few ideas about which diamonds.'

‘We do?' asked EJ.

‘Yes. Now, what did you see when you were in the city yesterday?' asked A1.

‘The Christmas windows,' replied EJ, wondering why A1 had changed the subject.

‘Yes,' said A1. ‘Go on.'

‘The windows theme was the sparkle of Christmas and …' EJ stopped for a moment, her mouth wide open. A1 hadn't changed the subject at all. ‘There was a diamond collection on display!'

‘Exactly,' said A1. ‘The Aurora collection, the largest private diamond collection in the world, is part of the Sparkle of Christmas display. It will be auctioned after Christmas to raise money for a new family shelter. We think someone is trying to steal it and I think the message you just de-coded is part of the plot.'

‘But the message says they are taken and they aren't,' said EJ. ‘Gran, Mum and I saw them just yesterday. They were there in the window and surrounded by security guards.'

‘I am not so sure. We received an alert from one of our surveillance agents that there were known
SHADOW
agents in Christmas Wonderland, next to Delia Stones. I knew GM80 was there so I asked her to check on the situation. She was on her way to investigate when she fell.'

That made EJ feel sad again. She really hoped Grandma was okay.

‘Your grandma will be fine,' said A1. ‘She was one of our best agents, and my favourite spy-buddy. It will take more than a little fall to stop her.'

How did A1 know what I was thinking?
wondered EJ.
And, more importantly, did she just say that she and Grandma were spy buddies? How cool is that!

‘Oh yes, pretty cool,' said A1. ‘One year we even tied for Spy of the Year! Ask her to show you her medal one day. But now, EJ, we have work to do. What else do we know?'

‘The cracker,' said EJ. ‘That came from Christmas Wonderland!'

‘Indeed. Christmas Wonderland may not be all it seems. We will need to investigate. I am despatching surveillance agents JL10, TB12 and NF12 to back up CC12. I may need to send more. Meanwhile we need you to check on those diamonds. Let's take a look at the area. Light Screen, lower.'

As A1 spoke, the Light Screen, the access screen to the whole
SHINE
computer system, including all
SHINE
intelligence files and the Internet, came down from the ceiling. It could be voice or touch activated. EJ smiled when she saw there was a string of gold stars around it.

‘Well, it is Christmas,' said A1. ‘Light Screen,' commanded A1, ‘show city map.' A map appeared on the screen. ‘Zoom to show block of Delia Stones Department Store.' The map zoomed in. ‘Show 3D.'

‘Wow, that's cool!' said EJ. ‘I can see the mall and the Christmas windows! And there is the gate to Christmas Wonderland.'

‘Zoom Christmas Wonderland,' said A1.

The screen zoomed in on a huge warehouse right next to Delia Stones. The whole warehouse building had been painted white to make it look like it was in the snow and there were Christmas trees in pots all around the front. There was an enormous red archway with holly and a long queue of people outside.

‘Light Screen, show all the data on Christmas Wonderland,' instructed A1.

The Light Screen began to stream images of balloon stalls and amusement rides, Christmas trees and crowds.

A digital voice began to talk. ‘Brand new this year, Christmas Wonderland is part of the Delia Stones' Sparkle of Christmas celebrations. Completely indoors, it recreates a wintery wonderland in the middle of the city, filled with festive funfair amusements.'

‘I'd love to go,' said EJ wistfully, for a moment forgetting where she was.

‘It does look fun,' said A1. ‘But if the cracker came from there, that makes me suspicious. Now, EJ12, let's take a closer look at those windows. Zoom Delia Stones' windows. Show diamond display window.'

The camera zoomed in but there was a blind pulled down over the window.

‘It's too early,' said A1. ‘The shop is not open yet. X-ray view,' instructed A1.

There was an empty display table.

‘They're not there!' exclaimed EJ.

‘Don't worry, that's okay,' said A1. ‘The diamonds are wheeled from the display in their protective glass and metal case to a vault room just behind the window at the end of each day. The case is then locked to the floor and roof and the diamonds are stored in the high-security vault overnight. Each morning they are checked, then cleaned and put back on display. We need you to check them before the store opens this morning.'

‘But why doesn't the Delia Stones' security department just check themselves?' asked EJ.

‘They believe one of their staff might be involved but they can't find out who it might be. We have run checks on all their staff and we can't work it out either. If one of them is a
SHADOW
agent, she is new and we know nothing about her.'

‘A new
SHADOW
agent?' asked EJ.

‘Quite possibly,' replied A1. ‘We had heard that
SHADOW
has been doing quite a bit of recruiting lately. If the store security began investigating, that may tip
SHADOW
off and we don't want that.'

That made sense to EJ. ‘So what do we do?'

‘We need to get you into the vault room.'

‘How are we going to get in?'

‘You are going to break in.'

‘I am?'

‘It is the only way,' said A1. ‘You will, however, have the building plan and an access card to deactivate the laser security around the diamonds.'

Well that will be easy then
, thought EJ.

‘However, it won't be quite as as easy as you might think, EJ,' said A1.

‘Oh,' said EJ. ‘Won't it?'

‘No,' continued A1. ‘You will need to access the vault room from the roof. You need to enter the ventilation system and using the building plan make your way to the access point above the vault room. Then you must lower yourself down into the room. Once there, you can swipe the security card to turn off the laser beams that guard the diamonds. But you will then have just fifteen minutes to check the diamonds and get out of there. After fifteen minutes, the lasers will turn back on automatically. If you are still there when that happens, you will trigger the alarms and our cover will be blown. If you finish before the fifteen minutes, you can swipe the card again to re-set the security.'

‘Okay,' said EJ, a little uncertainly. ‘But how will I test the diamonds to see if they are real?'

‘There is a test app on your phone. You can use that,' said A1. ‘Now let's get you mission-ready. The store opens in less than two hours. You need to get on your way. Your spy gear is in the change rooms, as always. Please go and change while I prepare your mission charms.'

‘Okay, A1,' said EJ as she headed for the cubicles at the end of the Operations Room. Inside, her gear was laid out. EJ saw it was
SHINE
-issue summer gear: black three-quarter mission shorts,
SHINE
-issue black t-shirt and black runners. There was a backpack with both a head torch and a hand torch, spy-talkers and a small tool kit. EJ quickly changed, took the backpack and returned to A1.

‘That's what I like to see,' said A1. ‘You know our motto “A quick change is a good change”.'

EJ didn't know that one but then
SHINE
did have rather a lot of mottoes and it was hard to keep up with them all.

‘Well, try to keep up, EJ,' said A1 kindly. ‘And note that your runners work the same way as the
SHINE
boots. They are simply our summer style. Now, I think you will be pleased with these charms.'

EJ saw that four silver charms were lying on the bench. There was a Christmas bauble, a diamond, a snowman and a heart.

A1 picked up the bauble charm. ‘As you know,' she said, ‘IQ400 has been working on her spy-camera range. You have used the very successful cupcake-cam and ball-cam and now she has come up with an even better spy-camera and added a festive touch, just the thing for where you're heading.'

‘So it's a bauble-cam,' said EJ, smiling. She was glad her mum didn't have one on the Christmas tree to catch her checking the presents.

‘Correct,' replied A1. ‘Your mother asked to trial one and she has reported excellent results.'

Now Emma knew how her mum knew when-ever she was near the Christmas tree.

‘But there is an added function to this spy-cam,' said A1. ‘It is a multi-use charm. You can twist it any number of times and it will produce more mini-cameras. This means you can put cameras in different locations. You then use a new app we have downloaded to your phone to monitor what all the cameras are filming.'

‘Okay,' said EJ. ‘And the diamond charm is a diamond? How do I use it?'

‘Diamonds are the hardest substance in the world and are excellent cutting tools,' explained A1. ‘This charm will allow you to cut your way through anything.'

‘And the snowman?' asked EJ. ‘I suppose that will turn into a snowman,' she said, laughing at her own joke.

A1's face remained completely serious. ‘Correct again,' she replied. ‘At least it will let
you
turn into a snowman. It's a disguise charm and I have a hunch that …'

 

Beeep!

 

‘Excuse me, EJ,' said A1 as she checked her phone. ‘KM12 is waiting for you in the agent despatch area. She will take you into the city on her bike.'

EJ smiled. She knew KM12's bike. She'd be at Delia Stones' in no time.

EJ walked out to the
SHINE
agent despatch area and smiled broadly when she saw her spy-buddy KM12 standing next to a tandem bike. EJ knew the bike was also a mini-helicopter. It seemed to have had a few extra accessories added to it.

‘Wow, KM,' she said. ‘Your bike seems to have even more things on it now.' KM12 was in the
SHINE
transport division and they were responsible for deploying agents to missions. It was perfect for KM because she loved speed. EJ often thought her fast-running friend Elle would be good as that kind of agent.

‘Just a few,' grinned KM. ‘As well as flight mode, I'm now carrying animal agent capsules which fit over the tandem seat. I love transporting the animal agents. They're all so cute! But climb on and grab a helmet. We need to get you to Delia Stones.'

EJ put on her helmet and climbed on to the back seat. The two girls pedalled down through the
SHINE
garage. As they approached a wall, KM hit a button on the bike's bell and a door slid open. The girls rode out into a narrow laneway. Even though it was early, it was already warm; it would be another hot day.

‘Hold on,' cried KM. ‘I'm taking her up!' KM flicked the bike's gears and mini-helicopter blades shot up. KM switched gears again and the blades began to whirr, lifting the bike up into the air. ‘Next stop Delia Stones,' cried KM12.

For EJ the ride was unbelievable. Everything was so quiet, almost magical in the still of morning before the city started waking up. EJ looked down. The roads were almost empty except for a single bus.

‘I can see the city bus,' she cried to KM.

‘Yes, but look up,' said KM.

EJ did and, in the distance, saw a group of hot air balloons on their dawn tours of the city.

‘We'll steer clear of the balloons so we are not seen but we can follow the bus route to the city,' said KM. ‘Our stop will just be a little higher up!'

EJ looked down again as they followed the bus. She felt like a bird swooping above it. Just yesterday she was sitting on that bus with her mum and today she was up here—EJ loved being an agent! But the ride was a short one and KM was soon taking them down on to the roof of the department store.

‘There you go, EJ,' said KM. ‘The vent is just over to your right and from there you can follow the ventilation shaft to the vault room.'

There was a ping. EJ went for her phone but this time it was KM12's. It was flashing orange, which was KM's favourite colour.

‘I've got to go,' said KM. ‘I'm needed back at HQ. It seems there are a lot of agents on the move today. A1 must really think
SHADOW
is up to something big. Good luck, EJ!'

‘Thanks, KM. You too,' said EJ. ‘And merry Christmas.'

KM grinned. ‘You too, EJ.'

KM flew off and EJ walked towards the vent pipe on the roof. She knelt down and took out her tool kit from her backpack. She undid the screws around the ventilation grid, removed the grid and put it to one side. She looked down in to the shaft—it was narrow. No wonder A1 wanted someone from the under-twelve division on this mission. EJ put on her head torch and lent over the shaft. She could see that it dropped down into another shaft. Checking the building plans on her phone, EJ could see that that shaft ran all the way to the front of the building, towards the Christmas windows. That was the one she needed to take. Once at the front, there should be another access vent down into the vault room.

EJ lowered herself down and began crawling along the shaft. Immediately she felt the cool air of the air conditioning. She took out her phone to activate her GPS position to the building plan. She could now see exactly where she was in the shaft. EJ edged along until she was directly above the vault room. Shining her torch on the shaft base, there was, as shown on the plan, another access grid. Again EJ carefully unscrewed the grid and put it to one side. She could see the room below. It was dark except for rings of red light. They were the lasers. EJ shone her torch down into the room and could see that they ringed a glass column that ran from the roof to a metal block in the middle of the room. And on the block were diamonds, a mountain of diamonds—it was the Aurora collection. EJ texted A1.

EJ sighed. It looked like this was going to be her quickest mission yet. Had
SHINE
got it wrong? Then her phone vibrated. It was a message from A1.

EJ scrolled through her phone, looking for the diamond test app. She found it and tapped. She didn't like what she saw on the screen.

Had
SHADOW
somehow scrambled the app or was it just an error? Either way, it was bad news.
What am I going to do now?
wondered EJ. Then her phone vibrated again. It was another text.

Backup?
thought EJ.
I wonder who A1 will send?
Her phone vibrated again.

Isi, I mean IJ, is coming?
thought EJ with a smile. She shone her head torch back down the shaft and could make out the outline of her friend crawling towards her.

‘Hi, EJ,' whispered IJ. ‘A1 thought someone from the science and invention division could be useful and my test app is fully loaded and operational. She also thought you would make a great spy buddy for my first mission!' IJ beamed at her friend.

‘It's so cool to have you OM, IJ,' said EJ, ‘but I don't think there
is
much of an M. Look down there, the diamonds are in their display surrounded by laser beams. They're not going anywhere.'

‘Hmmm,' said IJ. ‘I wonder. We need to get down and take a closer look.'

‘Okay,' said EJ. ‘We'll have to lower ourselves down far enough to swipe the security card on the glass box. That will turn off the lasers and lower the glass. But we mustn't touch any of the lasers on the way down or we'll trigger the alarm.'

‘Check, EJ,' said IJ. ‘Maybe you go first.'

EJ nodded, took her rope charm and twisted it, releasing a black rope. She then tied it to a bolt on the wall of the shaft in a slipknot and pulled. It held. EJ then slowly lowered herself down into the vault room to the left of the diamond case and lasers. She was pleased her arms were strong from all her gymnastic training. In seconds, she touched the floor. She looked at the glass tower containing the diamonds and saw the electronic swiper on the side of the metal base. There were two laser beams close to it, one above, one below.

‘IJ, once I swipe the security will be deactivated but we will have just fifteen minutes to check the diamonds,' said EJ. ‘Swing down as soon the lasers are off. Okay, here we go.' Slowly, carefully, EJ took out the security card and stretched her arm between the two laser beams, reaching out for the swiper. She swiped the card. There was a beep and the lasers vanished. The glass around the diamonds retracted from the roof into the metal base.

‘Now, IJ!' whispered EJ.

IJ swung down from the roof, landing on the floor next to EJ. Quickly she took her phone and keyed in a code. The phone glowed and IJ began to wave it over the diamonds.

EJ saw her friend's normally happy face crinkle into a frown.

‘What's wrong? Isn't your app working either?'

‘That's not the problem,' said IJ. ‘A1 was right to be suspicious.'

‘She was?'

‘Yep. This diamond is a fake,' explained IJ. ‘It's just glass, cheap glass.' IJ scanned her gadget over more of the diamonds. ‘They're all fakes, all except for this one on the top. It's real.'

‘That's weird,' said EJ. ‘One real one left. So where are the other ones and who's taken them?' Then she checked the time. ‘Hurry. We only have five minutes before the security lasers go on again.'

Then they heard a noise outside the vault. Footsteps. Footsteps that were getting louder and were coming towards the vault room.

‘Make that no time,' whispered EJ. ‘We need to get out of here now!'

‘What are we going to do?' asked IJ.

EJ scanned the vault room. She needed a plan. Fast. ‘We can't go back up, there isn't time,' she whispered. She took her rope and gave it a tug, releasing the rope.

IJ did the same. ‘But where are we going to go now?' she asked, sounding panicked.

‘Trust me, IJ,' said EJ.

They had just seconds before the door would open.